Sunday, March 11, 2012

On being home again

We've been home for over two weeks now, and we're not leaving again for another five weeks. Here's what I've noticed:

1. It's such a pleasure to be able to catch up, at my pace, with the mail and the magazines. And to have time to do the income taxes, prepare the budget for the year, and repot the root-bound plant.

2. I'm noting the hours of daylight are longer and wonder what happened to the darkness. Then I remember we were gone for 48 of those days. That's why we went! It was a wise decision, the being gone. I feel much more grateful about living in the Pacific Northwest this year, having missed much of the darkness.

3. Even if I take a laptop when I travel, there are some things that aren't on it - like the genealogy and the finances. At home, I have everything I need.

4. I'm walking a couple of miles a day on most days, and getting to the gym most of the others. I'm pacing myself, but already I can tell I'm stronger and have more stamina than I did a month ago.

And on the just-thinking front:

5. The filing cabinet is losing some of its folders - everything related to work and work benefits and L&I claims from working, and everything related to Bud, our pig, who died in November. I like that we're getting simpler.

6. I'm a good grandma when my grandkids are around. I'm not the lunging-type grandma. I sit there on the couch until the kid starts putting his toys right next to me, and then I teach him how to twist the dimmer to turn on the tall lamp, and then when his mom says it's time to leave he says, "I don't want to go home. I want to stay here." And I'm grateful to have these grandchildren and I'm glad the kind of grandma I am is fine with them.

7. I'm grateful my husband trusted me to manage the finances and investments when we were working, because now we're not working and we have everything we need. I'm also grateful he does all the grocery shopping and all the cooking, because I get a treat for dinner nearly every night without having to do a thing myself.

8. We have a daughter getting married in October, near Cancun. As our gift, we're contributing to the airfare for four of her siblings. One of them wants to stay with us in Mexico rather than finding a different place. That means we're good company for 30-somethings. That means a lot! I've been delegated the job of making sure all the siblings get passports. That means I'm considered trustworthy. I've also been delegated the job of buying a tropical wedding outfit for the father of the bride. That means my opinion is valued.

It's all good.

4 comments:

Linda Reeder said...

That was a fun read! Isn't it amazing what we can learn by just living life!

DJan said...

You sure don't let much time pass between trips, Linda. And it looks like the sunshine might not be all that frequent right now, but spring is a week away! And now we have much more sunshine, gaining three and a half minutes every single day. :-)

You're the very best kind of grandma, if you ask me!

Linda Myers said...

The April trip: we have to be out of our house for ten days while our Ecuador home exchange partners are in our house. Appalachia is a destination we've been interested in, as many of my ancestors are from there. And spring is a nicer time, weather wise, than the hot and humid summers.

But. We are taking a lot of trips, aren't we?

Ms Sparrow said...

I admire your organizational skills.
I would have a hard time keeping up with you, I'm afraid!